Quickly and quietly the two men made their way down the gentle slope. Every now and then they would stop and lie still against the ground, their dark green uniforms proved to be excellent camouflage in these conditions.
Once they were sure they were not being watched, they would continue. They finally reached the bottom of the slope and Robert could see Albert and Alf just beyond the tents and looking back up the slope he could see Paddy and Brian.
The four French men were still sitting by the fire. They were speaking in their own language and even though Robert only knew enough to understand that they were talking about the boredom of sentry duty.
He almost felt sorry for them, they all looked to be young, raw recruits and he knew that very soon they would regret joining Bonaparte's army. He gave the prearranged signal and he and Jimmy began to move slowly and silently into the French camp. As they moved Albert and Alf also started their approach. They were hidden by the French tents so they would not be seen but they had to move quietly over the rocky terrain.
Suddenly and without warning one of the soldiers stood up and in a loud voice made a crude comment about needing to piss. His colleagues laughed and one of them pointed roughly towards Robert's position. Robert dropped to the ground and took the only cover he could behind a large green shrub. Jimmy ducked back behind a large rock. Robert was horrified that the man was walking directly towards his position and was unbuttoning his trousers as he approached.
The Frenchman's cock was already in his hand when he stopped walking and he sent an amber stream through the air and to Robert's disgust his jacket got sprayed. With a single thrust of his blade upward he stabbed the man through his balls and up into his abdomen. He jumped up quickly to muffle the mans cries. He held the man upright and used him to hide himself from the other French soldiers.
He could feel the the arterial blood pouring down onto his hand that still held his sword. He looked into the mans eyes and saw that he was still alive. His eyes showed a strange mix of emotions, shock, fear and despair yes but also a profound sense of embarrassment. Robert took pity on him. He pulled his sword from the man and in one swift motion used it to cut his throat, ending his suffering quickly and quietly. He then signalled to the others to attack. Alf and Albert moved first and they were on the three remaining soldiers in the blink of an eye. Two of them died without even having a chance to draw their swords and the third had started to open his mouth to shout an alert to his sleeping comrades. No sound came though because Jimmy's bayonet had been shoved through the back of his neck severing his vocal chords and the carotid artery. The point of the bayonet was protruding from the mans mouth and the light from the campfire made it glint with a golden shine. As Jimmy pulled his bayonet out from the mans head, blood poured from the mans mouth along with a bubbly gargle.
The four British comrades quickly and without fuss advanced towards the tents. The initial encounter with the French had only lasted about two minutes. There were two tents, both large and grey in colour. They once again split into two groups and they stood on either side of the front flaps. Robert cleared his throat and in the best French voice he could muster he said "Les soldats, se levant et nous aident.'
Groans came from within and an angry voice complained about being woken. A head came poking out of the tent and a sword came flashing down that caught the man squarely on the back of his head cutting deep into the skull, killing him instantly. His body fell to the ground with a quiet thud and his brains leaked onto the stony ground.
As Jimmy wiped the blood from his blade, Robert pulled back the tent flap to reveal it was empty. He nodded to Albert who also used his more basic French to lure any Frenchmen within to their doom. The two men who appeared were quickly dispatched as they stepped from the tent. Finally the men could relax and Robert waved to Paddy and Brian to come down.
"Well done guys" Robert said with a smile on his face.
"Oy Albie" said Jimmy.
"What?"
"Can you smell French piss?"
"Yeah, yeah' said Robert and the men all laughed.
"Get some rest while we can. The other guys will be doing their bit. We need to be ready to move. Brian, keep an eye out just in case.'
The young man moved away and took up position at the centre of the camp. Robert and the other men went into the tents to get a well earned rest.
